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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — in control
  6. race — humankind
  7. saw — the tool
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. degree — from a university
  11. scale — size or range
  12. charge — electricity
  13. saw — the tool
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. scale — in music
  16. band — a ring
  17. race — a contest
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. degree — an amount
  20. chip — to eat
  21. snap — to click
  22. race — the arms race
  23. chip — for betting
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com